Battle of Epsilon 2
The 'Battle of Epsilon 2 '''takes place between the Planetary Union and the Krill on September 2419 on the surface, and in orbit, of the planet Epsilon 2. A Krill raid the Epsilon Science Station to acquire a quantum accelerator escalates to a battle between a Krill destroyer and the [[USS Orville|USS ''Orville]]. The Battle of Epsilon 2 represents one of the first recorded attempts to seed a Krill spy in the Union, but ends in a surprise victory for the significantly weaker Union force. Prelude to battle In the early 25th century, the Epsilon Science Station of Epsilon 2 was renowned as "the Scientists' Playground," a research-minded colony free of typical bureaucratic interests. Some time in 2418, the Krill military seeded a spy in the station, Doctor Derek Ashton. Around this same time, station physicists, led by Doctor Janice Lee, studying quantum field technologies developed a quantum accelerator, a device capable of rapidly aging anything within a "quantum bubble." For the next year, Derek quietly observed Station research for the benefit of the Krill, who periodically collect information from Derek by passing by the colony. Sightings of passing Krill destroyers attracted the attention of colony leadership. The Krill military is highly aggressive and many thought their appearances were unrelated, but Doctor Aronov - director of the facility - correctly suspected that the Krill knew of their quantum accelerator. To avoid the attention of any unwanted observers, he submits a false re-supply request for the colony, which is answered by the [[USS Orville|USS Orville]] in early September, 2419. Aronov explains the value of the accelerator to an Orville ground team consisting of Captain Ed Mercer, Commander Kelly Grayson, Chief of Security Alara Kitan, and Doctor Claire Finn. Crucially, the conversation between the Director and the ground team is witnessed by Derek. , an undercover Krill operative, is largely responsible for the conflict.|left]]With the window of opportunity to take the accelerator for the Krill closing, Derek summons the Krill, who bring a Krill destroyer to the planet's orbit. He takes Claire as a hostage. The prominent Doctor Janice Lee, a physicist responsible for the underlying principles behind the accelerator, attempts to reason with him. Derek panics and pushes her into the accelerator's active quantum bubble, killing her in seconds. He forces Ed to tell acting captain Bortus not to attack the incoming destroyer. Alara and Kelly manage to distract and subdue Derek, and Ed immediately signals Bortus that the destroyer is there to raid the facility. It deploys three shuttles Krill soldiers to raid the facility. A battle ignites on both land and in space: Ed must lead his team, Doctor Aronov, and a prototype of the quantum accelerator through the raiding forces while Bortus, as acting commander of the Orville, must fend off the enemy destroyer. Battle ," a difficult and dangerous flight maneuver.]] In the Epsilon Science Station, Aronov guides the team from the Physics wing to the exterior where their shuttle sits. Meanwhile, Krill soldiers storm the facility room-by-room. The ground team manages to elude the soldiers, first by running a circuitous path through lockable doors, and second by Alara breaking open sealed gates, saving them valuable time. They run out of shortcuts when the party reaches a wide, open field between the facility's exit and the resting shuttle. With Krill soldiers guarding the perimeter, the team has no choice but to forcefully cut a path to the shuttle. Meanwhile, the ''Exploratory''-class Orville is forced to contend with a heavier Krill destroyer. The fight begins with Bortus and the enemy Captain firing tit-for-tat on each other. Recognizing that the ship could never survive a traditional firefight with a destroyer, Helmsman Gordon Malloy and Navigator John LaMarr run the Orville through a dangerous, risky flight maneuver called "Hugging the Donkey." In this tactic, the Orville quickly circles the larger enemy craft, firing on it while evading the enemy's attacks. Back on the ground, Ed decides that the safest way to secure the accelerator is to allow Alara to take the device and to use her superior Xelayan strength to bound quickly to the shuttle. This allowed them to get the device into the shuttle and flee in case the rest of the group was captured or killed. The ground team fired on the Krill soldiers, further distracting the enemy from Alara, and cut a path to the shuttle themselves. Ed is struck by a plasma round on the shoulder but the team is otherwise uninjured. The shuttle escapes as enemy Krill fire on it from the ground. Gordon's bravery in orbit buys the Orville time but the enemy is still able to slowly damage the ship. As the shuttle flies to the Orville, a crucial shot from the Krill wipes out the Orville's helm control. Without control, Gordon is unable to automatically port the incoming shuttle. The shuttle is undergoing troubles of its own. A Krill soldier hidden in the shuttle appears and demands the device. Ed unexpectedly toys with the navigation to knock the soldier into the glass and Alara subdues him. Still without helm control, Bortus commands Gordon to manually align the ship so that the shuttle may dock. The Helmsman is successful; Ed and Kelly scurry to the Bridge and assume command. Unfortunately, the Orville's deflectors are depleted. The Krill Captain sees that he cannot destroy the ship without losing the accelerator as well, and threatens to destroy the Orville along with the accelerator. Kelly's idea is to cede the device with a redwood tree seed inside. When the Krill accept the accelerator and activate it, the seed erupts into a massive, fully grown tree, destroying most of the ship including its Bridge. Aftermath leads the ground team through three Krill raiding parties to their shuttle.]] The Battle of Epsilon 2 was a victory for the Planetary Union but not without costs. The prototype of the quantum accelerator was destroyed and its mastermind, Janice Lee, was dead. Still, the battle saved countless lives and represented a stirring defeat of a superior Krill destroyer by a smaller Union vessel. Because the battle started on the pretext of a simple resupply mission, many of the Orville's commanders were young or inexperienced. The battle was the first of Ed Mercer and Kelly Grayson's careers as captain and commander, and their first victory. Alara Kitan, who distinguished herself in ground fighting, was only 23 years old. Appearances * Episode 1x01: Old Wounds * ''Episode 1x06: Krill'''' '' Category:Military conflicts